MP Zaqy Mohamad & volunteers find WW2 bunker in Marsiling forest, discover traces of old kampungs

Abandoned kampung and WW2 bunker: the history behind Zaqy Mohamad’s discoveries in Marsiling forest

Senior Minister of State Zaqy bin Mohamad recently went for a hike with several volunteers in a Marsiling forest set for redevelopment in the future and ended up stumbling upon a WW2 storage bunker.

Additionally, they discovered traces of an old kampung that once thrived in the area.

MP stumbles upon WW2 gun outpost & bunker in Marsiling forest

Mr Zaqy, a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Marsiling division of Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, posted about his findings on 3 May.

He, alongside others, went to a patch of forest behind Masjid An-Nur that was set for redevelopment in the coming months.

The forest, known as Woodlands N1, had been previously earmarked for housing projects in late 2024.

Aside from a wide variety of flora and fauna, the forest holds the remains of Kampung Hock Choon, a rural village established before World War 2 (WW2).

As was the fate of many kampungs in independent Singapore, HDB resettled the residents into housing blocks and cleared the village away.

Mr Zaqy aimed to find the remnants of Kampung Hock Choon, but was instead surprised when he stumbled upon the remains of a WW2 defence network.

“A gun outpost overlooking the Causeway, and a storage bunker we could still enter,” Mr Zaqy said. “It is hard to imagine they have been quietly sitting here in Marsiling all these years.”

Remnants of old kampung still visible in forest

Further into the forest, the group found traces of Kampong Hock Choon, most notably a dried-up well. It even still had a bucket and rope.

There were also stone walls — all that was left of old kampung buildings — overgrown with moss and leaf litter.

There were even durian trees in the area, still fruiting long after those who planted them were gone.

Mr Zaqy wondered if local residents hiked in to collect the free fruits.

Zaqy Mohamad questions origin of old stone marker left in Marsiling forest

During the hike, Mr Zaqy came across an old marker with the letters “WD”, an up arrow, and the number “12”.

He was told that it was the marker left by the old Water Department before the formation of PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, in 1963.

However, this marker is more likely to be a boundary stone erected by the British War Department, which features the same “WD” and a broad arrow.

The group also came across an old 7-Up bottle that they estimated to be “decades-old”.

While the ruins seem like they were from a bygone time, Mr Zaqy shared that several volunteers in the group had childhood memories in the kampung.

Young Lee Hsien Loong visited Hock Choon CC with PM Lee Kuan Yew

Hock Choon Community Centre (CC) used to stand right next to Masjid An-Nur, with trees and undergrowth in its place nowadays, as seen in a Facebook post by user Amai AS.

Hock Choon CC was the first rural-type CC in Singapore.

Historical photos show former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and a young Lee Hsien Loong attending an event there in 1963.

Currently, Hock Choon CC has been replaced by Fuchun CC, a transliteration of its name into pinyin, which sits at Woodlands Street 31.

Due to ongoing construction, the staff temporarily moved to the nearby Woodgrove CC.

Concerns over redevelopment impact on biodiversity

The former residents of Kampung Hock Choon no longer live in Woodlands N1, but many species of plants and animals do, including those of conservation significance.

Thousands signed a petition in 2024 arguing for the protection of the site and its biodiversity.

Mr Zaqy wrote in his post that agencies would take measures to manage the environmental impacts of redevelopment at Woodlands N1.

“I hope we can continue to preserve what makes Marsiling, Marsiling, keeping both its green spaces and its community spirit alive,” he said.

Also read: Uncovering the hidden stories of the most ‘random’ street names in S’pore

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Featured image adapted from Zaqy Mohamad on Facebook.